Veneration of Winifred as a martyr saint is attested from the 12th century. She is mostly venerated in England, not in Wales, which led
Caesar Baronius to list her as an "English saint" in his
Roman Martyrology of 1584. In 1138,
relics of Winifred were carried to
Shrewsbury to form the basis of an elaborate
shrine. The
Church of St. Winifred, Stainton is a 12th century church located in the village of
Stainton, South Yorkshire,
England.
Cult (Bodleian Mss. Laud c.94.) The details of Winifred's life are gathered from a manuscript in the British Museum, said to have been the work of the British monk, Elerius, a contemporary of the saint, and also from a manuscript life in the Bodleian Library, generally believed to have been compiled in 1130 by
Robert, prior of Shrewsbury ( 1168). The chronicler
John of Tynemouth also wrote of Winifred. To further enhance the prestige of the Abbey,
Abbot Nicholas Stevens built a new shrine for St. Winifred in the 14th century, before then having some monks steal the relics of St. Beuno from
Rhewl and installed in the abbey church. Although the abbey was fined, it was allowed to keep the relics.
William Caxton's 1483 edition of the
Golden Legend includes the story of St. Winifred. The following year, he printed a separate "Life" of the saint. in Holywell, one of the oldest continually visited pilgrimage sites in Britain The shrine and well at Shrewsbury became major
pilgrimage goals in the
Late Middle Ages, but the shrine was destroyed by
Henry VIII in 1540.
St Winefride's Well in
Flintshire, originally formed from a mountain spring, is housed below the town on the side of a steep hill. The well precinct also houses an 'Interpretive Exhibition', setting forth the story of the saint and her shrine in detail; the Victorian former custodians' house has also been converted to house a museum of the pilgrimage. The site is managed by
Cadw. St Winefride's Holy Well at Holywell Farm in Cheshire is one of a number of holy wells dedicated to St Winefride which were placed to mark the route of her remains when they were taken from Holywell in Clwyd, where she was martyred, to Shrewsbury Abbey. It is a listed monument. , Shropshire Another well named after St. Winifred is found in the hamlet of
Woolston near
Oswestry in
Shropshire. According to legend, it is thought that on her way to
Shrewsbury Abbey, Winifred's body was laid there overnight and a spring sprang up out of the ground. The well is covered by a 15th-century half-timbered cottage. The water flows through a series of stone troughs and into a large pond, which then flows into a stream. The cottage is maintained by the
Landmark Trust. A spring on
Lansdown Hill, Bath was known as St. Winifred's Spring and gave its name to nearby Winifreds Lane. There appears to be no known connection to the life of the saint, but its waters were once supposed to help women conceive. A Norman church of
Saint Winifred's can be found in the village of
Branscombe, Devon. There is some archaeological evidence to suggest an earlier
Saxon church may have occupied the site.
St. Winifred's Well, Dublin was built on
Eustace Street. It is presumed to be linked to the presence of Welsh and English merchants in the city.
Roman Martyrology In the 2004 edition of the
Roman Martyrology, Winifred is listed under 2 November with the Latin name . She is listed as follows: "At the spring located at Holywell in Wales, St Winefride the Virgin, who is outstanding in her witness as a nun". Winifred is officially recognised by the
Vatican as a person with a historical basis, who lived an exemplary religious life, but with no discussion of miracles which she may have performed or been healed by. As a 1st-millennium saint, she is recognised as a saint by popular acclaim, rather than ever being formally
canonized. In the current
Roman Catholic liturgical calendar for Wales, Winifred is commemorated on 3 November, since 2 November is designated as
All Souls' Day.
Iconography Winifred's representation in stained glass at Llandyrnog and Llanasa focuses on her learning and her status as an honorary martyr, but the third aspect of her life, her religious leadership, is also commemorated visually. On the seal of the cathedral chapter of St. Asaph (now in the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff), she appears wimpled as an abbess, bearing a crozier, symbol of leadership and authority and a reliquary. • 30 October – feast day in Ireland • 2 November – Roman Martyrology • 3 November – feast day in England and Wales ==References in fiction==